Australian wheat exports increased in July after slowing down in June owing to a decline in global demand driven by cheaper alternatives.
Australian wheat exports for July totalled 2.7mn t, up from 2.5mn t in June and 2.6mn t in 2022, but down from May's peak of 3.3mn t according to data released from Australia Bureau of Statistics (ABS). January-July wheat exports totalled 21.7mn t, up from 18.1mn t in 2022. Three consecutive years of substantial rainfall and record-breaking crop production in Australia have led to higher domestic stocks, increasing the country's export capacity.
Wheat exports to China rose by 491,000t from the previous month. China's major wheat producing regions were hit by excessive rainfall in late May during the harvesting stage, leading to damaged crops and a reduction in Chinese wheat production.
Dry conditions are affecting this years upcoming harvest, and the export price premium on milling wheat to feed wheat is expected to continue rising because of the impact of dry weather on yields and crop quality in northern New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia (WA).
Australia's winter crop production forecast was revised to 45.2mn t earlier this month, a decline of 34pc on the year, according to the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Science (Abares). This will result in lower exports for the 2023-24 period.
The harvest in central Queensland started last week but it is not expected to extend for long in the region because of dry conditions experienced throughout the growing season, resulting in lower yields and reduced quality. Most of the wheat harvested within the central Queensland region is expected to have a low grade protein content and will primarily be used for feed wheat, according to a local trader.
Barley
Australian barley exports for July totalled 382,000t, down from 465,000t in June and 591,000t in 2022, according to ABS.
January-July barley exports totalled 4.2mn t, down from 4.8mn t compared to the year earlier period. China ended anti-dumping tariffs on Australian imported barley on 5 August, and the first shipment of barley has arrived in China. This marks the first trade of barley between the two countries since 2020. China was once Australia's largest market for barley exports, accounting for 35pc or 1.5mn t of Australia's barley exports in 2020, according to ABS. China is expected to receive more barley from Australia in the coming months given the resumption of barley exports to the country.
| Australian grain exports (000't) | |||||||
| Wheat | |||||||
| Indonesia | Thailand | Vietnam | China | Japan | Philippines | Total | |
| Jul-23 | 637 | 57 | 141 | 628 | 28 | 460 | 2,705 |
| Jun-23 | 509 | 381 | 311 | 137 | 150 | 210 | 2,571 |
| May-23 | 407 | 198 | 453 | 789 | 112 | 234 | 3,309 |
| Jul-22 | 388 | 70 | 381 | 692 | 104 | 309 | 2,597 |
| Jul-21 | 671 | 75 | 143 | 263 | 48 | 144 | 1,901 |
| Jul-20 | 15 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 86 | 5 | 438 |
| Jan-Jul 23 | 2,928 | 1,741 | 2,077 | 5,362 | 668 | 1,929 | 21,696 |
| Jan-Jul 22 | 2,268 | 556 | 1,964 | 3,969 | 644 | 1,991 | 18,066 |
| Jan-Jul 21 | 3,927 | 855 | 2,060 | 1,093 | 617 | 1,258 | 16,975 |
| Jan-Jul 20 | 501 | 287 | 287 | 1,211 | 516 | 417 | 6,224 |
| Barley | |||||||
| Thailand | Vietnam | Japan | Philippines | China | Korea | Total | |
| Jul-23 | 211 | 4 | 20 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 382 |
| Jun-23 | 34 | 15 | 155 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 465 |
| May-23 | 68 | 123 | 105 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 598 |
| Jul-22 | 0 | 106 | 78 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 591 |
| Jul-21 | 2 | 43 | 164 | 56 | 0 | 1 | 571 |
| Jul-20 | 65 | 6 | 34 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 207 |
| Jan-Jul 23 | 609 | 464 | 631 | 207 | 0 | 41 | 4,204 |
| Jan-Jul 22 | 13 | 376 | 625 | 184 | 0 | 28 | 4,791 |
| Jan-Jul 21 | 679 | 500 | 683 | 160 | 0 | 19 | 5,384 |
| Jan-Jul 20 | 430 | 99 | 313 | 5 | 1,367 | 16 | 2,397 |
| table source: ABS | |||||||
| Totals include all destinations not just those listed | |||||||

